953).22 Jones’s feelings toward the Bible are
perhaps best summed up by a statement he made
during a Los Angeles sermon concerning his
claim to be the reincarnation of various Judeo-
Christian or political figures. Jones said,
Yes, I’ll become Jesus Christ. Yes, I’ll
become Moses. Yes, I’ll become
Vladimir [Lenin]…. But I don’t have to
be those that I mentioned. I’ve done
enough in the name of Jim Jones to
write the best Bible you’ve ever seen.
(Q 1057, part 5)
Although Jones perceived himself to be capable
of being—and doing the work of—Jesus, his
ultimate accomplishments lay outside the
narrative of the Bible and outside the name and
reputation of Jesus.
The fact that Jones appropriated the biblical
witness of Jesus more so than he accepted it
entirely need not, and does not, render as a
useless endeavor one’s understanding his
interpretation of Jesus as a messiah. On the
contrary, by observing how Jones interpreted
Jesus as an apocalyptic messiah and evaluated
him based on this interpretation, one is better
able to understand Jones’s own preaching and
vocation as the messianic leader of Peoples
Temple. The ramifications of this preaching are
evident in the later history of Peoples Temple
and the community of Jonestown. Jones
encouraged members to work out their salvation
through participating in Jones’s directives and
apart from established religion. Persecution
became a rubric by which Jones and members of
the Temple measured their commitment to and
embodiment of divine socialism, which led them
to adopt a dualistic understanding of the world.
Jones bred members’ dedication to the Temple’s
cause and paranoia through his understanding of
Jesus as a messiah, thus contributing to the
Temple’s tragic end. This article does not claim
that Jones had any robust systematic theology
but it shows—through analysis of the Temple’s
22 Jones follows this quote shortly by explaining that he could use
“the western magazine to … produce the truth. I can see between
the lines in the Los Angeles Times and show you what is the truth. I
use the Bible because people are addicted on the Bible” (Q 953).
audio recordings—that Jones’s biblical
interpretations fostered a worldview
characterized by fear, hope, loyalty, and
suspicion.
Bibliography
Index of FBI tape summaries. 1979. Audiotapes retrieved from
Jonestown by Federal Bureau of Investigation: Q 042 Q 134 Q
175 Q 932 Q 953 Q 955 Q 965 Q 974 Q 987 Q 1016 Q 1019
Q 1023 Q 1035 Q 1053, part 1 Q 1054, part 3 Q 1057, part 2 Q
1057, part 4 Q 1057, part 5 Q 1058, part 2 Q 1058, part 4 Q
1059, part 1 Q 1059, part 2 Q 1059. part 4. Available online
through the SDSU website at http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/
?page_id=29041
Secondary Resources
Chidester, David. 2003 (1988). Salvation and suicide: Jim Jones,
the Peoples Temple, and Jonestown. (Rev. ed.). Bloomington, IN:
Indiana University Press.
Fondakowski, Leigh. 2013. Stories from Jonestown. Minneapolis,
MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Griffin, Horace L. 2013. Dishonor: Race, sex and power in Jim
Jones’ Peoples Temple, Journal of Pastoral Theology, 23(2), 3.1–
3.15.
Hall, John R. 2001. Gone from the promised land: Jonestown in
American cultural history. (2nd ed. originally published in 1987.)
New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
Kent, Stephen. 2010. House of Judah, the Northeast Kingdom
Community, and “the Jonestown problem”: Downplaying child
physical abuse and ignoring serious evidence, International
Journal of Cultic Studies, 1(1), 27–48.
Kilduff, Marshall, &Tracy, Phil. 1977 (August 1). Inside Peoples
Temple. New West, pp. 30–38.
Maaga, Mary McCormick. 1998. Hearing the voices of Jonestown.
Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.
Migliore, Daniel L. 2004 (1991). Faith seeking understanding: An
introduction to Christian theology (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing.
Mills, Jeannie. 1979. Six years with God: Life inside Rev. Jim
Jones’s Peoples Temple. New York, NY: A&W Publishers.
Moore, Rebecca. 2009. Understanding Jonestown and Peoples
Temple. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
Moore, Rebecca. 2011. Narratives of persecution, suffering, and
martyrdom: Violence in Peoples Temple and Jonestown. In James
R. Lewis (Ed.), Violence and new religious movements (pp. 95–
112). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Oxford University Press.
Nugent, John Peer. 1979. White night: The untold story of what
happened before—and beyond—Jonestown. New York, NY:
Rawson Wade Publishers.
Reiterman, Tim, &Jacobs, John. 2008 (1982). Raven: The untold
story of the Rev. Jim Jones and his people. (Reprint.). New York,
NY: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin.
Smith, J. Alfred. 2004. Breaking the silence: Reflections of a black
pastor. In Rebecca Moore, Anthony B. Pinn, and Mary R. Sawyer
46 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 6, 2015
perhaps best summed up by a statement he made
during a Los Angeles sermon concerning his
claim to be the reincarnation of various Judeo-
Christian or political figures. Jones said,
Yes, I’ll become Jesus Christ. Yes, I’ll
become Moses. Yes, I’ll become
Vladimir [Lenin]…. But I don’t have to
be those that I mentioned. I’ve done
enough in the name of Jim Jones to
write the best Bible you’ve ever seen.
(Q 1057, part 5)
Although Jones perceived himself to be capable
of being—and doing the work of—Jesus, his
ultimate accomplishments lay outside the
narrative of the Bible and outside the name and
reputation of Jesus.
The fact that Jones appropriated the biblical
witness of Jesus more so than he accepted it
entirely need not, and does not, render as a
useless endeavor one’s understanding his
interpretation of Jesus as a messiah. On the
contrary, by observing how Jones interpreted
Jesus as an apocalyptic messiah and evaluated
him based on this interpretation, one is better
able to understand Jones’s own preaching and
vocation as the messianic leader of Peoples
Temple. The ramifications of this preaching are
evident in the later history of Peoples Temple
and the community of Jonestown. Jones
encouraged members to work out their salvation
through participating in Jones’s directives and
apart from established religion. Persecution
became a rubric by which Jones and members of
the Temple measured their commitment to and
embodiment of divine socialism, which led them
to adopt a dualistic understanding of the world.
Jones bred members’ dedication to the Temple’s
cause and paranoia through his understanding of
Jesus as a messiah, thus contributing to the
Temple’s tragic end. This article does not claim
that Jones had any robust systematic theology
but it shows—through analysis of the Temple’s
22 Jones follows this quote shortly by explaining that he could use
“the western magazine to … produce the truth. I can see between
the lines in the Los Angeles Times and show you what is the truth. I
use the Bible because people are addicted on the Bible” (Q 953).
audio recordings—that Jones’s biblical
interpretations fostered a worldview
characterized by fear, hope, loyalty, and
suspicion.
Bibliography
Index of FBI tape summaries. 1979. Audiotapes retrieved from
Jonestown by Federal Bureau of Investigation: Q 042 Q 134 Q
175 Q 932 Q 953 Q 955 Q 965 Q 974 Q 987 Q 1016 Q 1019
Q 1023 Q 1035 Q 1053, part 1 Q 1054, part 3 Q 1057, part 2 Q
1057, part 4 Q 1057, part 5 Q 1058, part 2 Q 1058, part 4 Q
1059, part 1 Q 1059, part 2 Q 1059. part 4. Available online
through the SDSU website at http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/
?page_id=29041
Secondary Resources
Chidester, David. 2003 (1988). Salvation and suicide: Jim Jones,
the Peoples Temple, and Jonestown. (Rev. ed.). Bloomington, IN:
Indiana University Press.
Fondakowski, Leigh. 2013. Stories from Jonestown. Minneapolis,
MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Griffin, Horace L. 2013. Dishonor: Race, sex and power in Jim
Jones’ Peoples Temple, Journal of Pastoral Theology, 23(2), 3.1–
3.15.
Hall, John R. 2001. Gone from the promised land: Jonestown in
American cultural history. (2nd ed. originally published in 1987.)
New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
Kent, Stephen. 2010. House of Judah, the Northeast Kingdom
Community, and “the Jonestown problem”: Downplaying child
physical abuse and ignoring serious evidence, International
Journal of Cultic Studies, 1(1), 27–48.
Kilduff, Marshall, &Tracy, Phil. 1977 (August 1). Inside Peoples
Temple. New West, pp. 30–38.
Maaga, Mary McCormick. 1998. Hearing the voices of Jonestown.
Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.
Migliore, Daniel L. 2004 (1991). Faith seeking understanding: An
introduction to Christian theology (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing.
Mills, Jeannie. 1979. Six years with God: Life inside Rev. Jim
Jones’s Peoples Temple. New York, NY: A&W Publishers.
Moore, Rebecca. 2009. Understanding Jonestown and Peoples
Temple. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
Moore, Rebecca. 2011. Narratives of persecution, suffering, and
martyrdom: Violence in Peoples Temple and Jonestown. In James
R. Lewis (Ed.), Violence and new religious movements (pp. 95–
112). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Oxford University Press.
Nugent, John Peer. 1979. White night: The untold story of what
happened before—and beyond—Jonestown. New York, NY:
Rawson Wade Publishers.
Reiterman, Tim, &Jacobs, John. 2008 (1982). Raven: The untold
story of the Rev. Jim Jones and his people. (Reprint.). New York,
NY: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin.
Smith, J. Alfred. 2004. Breaking the silence: Reflections of a black
pastor. In Rebecca Moore, Anthony B. Pinn, and Mary R. Sawyer
46 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 6, 2015
